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AMA: Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility, Natalia Baryshnikova on Product Management Career Path

November 9 @ 10:00AM PST

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Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility, Natalia Baryshnikova on Product Management Career Path

Top Questions

How do the skills you need differ across the different levels of product management?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

Let's take a look at common milestones of a product management career, and which skills you need the most on each level. This not an exhaustive list, but you can see the trends of how the skillset evolves. Individual contributor (IC) PM: Prioritization, trade-offs, taste (sense for what makes......Read More

2598 Views

8 requests

As a hiring manager, what do the best product management candidates have in common?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

Best product management candidates craft compelling, concise and inspirational narratives when they interview. They demonstrate clarity of thinking, knowing both the facts and the "why" behind their answers, and genuine curiosity. I always walk out of an interview with a great product manager fee......Read More

1721 Views

4 requests

What type of skill sets and experiences do I need to build in order to strengthen my career and move from being a Sr. Product Manager to Director level and above? What type of leadership career tracks do you see people continue their careers?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

The most concise way I've described the difference between being an IC and a manager to someone was: "As an individual contributor, you need to get sh*t done. As a manager, you need to make sh*t happen". I have covered the specific skills need for both senior PMs and Directors in another answer t......Read More

1644 Views

6 requests

Transitioning from construction project management to product management.... industry to tech. Any advice on getting my foot in the door and landing an interview?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

Your path to landing a product role will depend on being able to show how your skills from the current role translate to the new world, and proving that you can bring value to a product team on Day 1 when you join. Here is how I would tackle this: 1. Identify the similarities between product ma......Read More

1281 Views

3 requests

What are differences between PM and Sr. PM? What are clear indicators that someone is ready to take on Sr. PM role and responsibilities that come with it? And, when in the Sr. PM role, what are key stages that distinguish different levels of Sr. PMs?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

Check out my other answer in the AMA outlining the difference in skills between different PM levels. As for how do I know that someone is ready to take on a Sr. PM role, the answer is I can see them operating with a mastery of skills that I expect from a senior product manager, while their title ......Read More

1584 Views

3 requests

What do you see as the most important hard/soft skills to be a successful product management professional?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • May 4

Thank you for asking. Here is my answer to that from an earlier Sharebird AMA: https://sharebird.com/h/product-management/q/what-do-you-see-as-the-most-important-hardsoft-skills-to-be-a-successful-product-management-professional?answer=BPd1U65Lna One thing I would add to that answer is that ha......Read More

331 Views

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

My personal acronym for the skills that make product managers succesfull is H.A.C.K. H for Humility. There are two particularly important benefits of humility. First, humble people better navigate the emotional roller coaster of being wrong and having to admit it. They quickly recover from sit......Read More

2850 Views

5 requests

How do you get into a saas based company if you have no experience working in one and what are some of the core competencies you need when you are starting out?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

Check out my other answer in this AMA to a question asked by someone from a construction industry. You can repurpose the steps I outlined in that answer to your situation. The key parts to figure out will be the WHY behind your interest in SaaS, a list of skills you have today that are transferra......Read More

1116 Views

3 requests

What pointed recommendations do you have on gaining influence as a new member of an organization or as a junior product management team member?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

Your ability to create value quickly will depend on how quickly you can identify the problems and gaps in ways your organization operates today, and demonstrate progress towrds fixing them. Here's how you can do that: 1. When you join an organization, schedule introductory 1-1s with a wide ......Read More

2480 Views

5 requests

How do you measure your own success in your role and how much have those performance indicators evolved as you grew within your role?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

As a general manager, I own specific business goals and outcomes that I need to achieve, and am responsible for on an organization level. Those goals are very specific and measurable, so I always know where I stand on them. As a team leader, I measure success through my team's happiness, proficie......Read More

2591 Views

5 requests

What are some ways you've seen product teams increase their velocity?

Other than more experience how can I help my team have more impact faster?

Natalia Baryshnikova

Atlassian Head of Product, Enterprise Agility • November 9

A common pitfall that slows teams down is inability to make good decisions quickly, especially if these decisions involve many stakeholders. One of the best-kept team velocity secrets, especially in larger organizations, is having a consistent and efficient decision-making framework that is pract......Read More

2225 Views

5 requests